What kind of gear do you ride with
 

What kind of gear does everyone ride with?



I am an ATGATT guy especially since the accident that I had 4 years ago where a driver pulled out in front of me. I struck their front bumper and I went down at about 40 mph and slid 80 - 100 feet down the pavement on my right side dislocating and fracturing my shoulder in the process. I have a cool screw in my right shoulder now too! I credit my jacket mostly for saving the skin on my chest and my full face helmet where the only road rash was on the chin bar. I wasn't wearing gloves that morning for some reason and my hands got a little chewed up and I had on regular jeans which are no match for pavement.



Now I always wear my full face helmet, riding jacket, gloves, boots and I just recently I purchased Kevlar riding jeans.



When I ride I almost never see other cruiser riders wearing any more than a half helmet if even that. Usually it is the protective Harley bandanna and that's it. Sometimes I feel a little out of place but then I remember the accident, surgery, physical therapy and the fact that I will never have full range of motion in the shoulder I broke.

People ask me how I can wear my leather chaps when it is so hot out. I tell them that if they ever had to go through getting skin grafts, they wouldn't ask. I always wear a riding jacket with armor, my chaps or kevlar jeans, gloves, full face shield helmet, and steel toe riding boots. Everyday, I see riders in shorts, flip-flops, and a tee-shirt with a helmet. God forbid they hit the pavement or another vehicle. Every week here in the Las Vegas valley, a rider dies. ATGATT.

I too always wear armoured jacket and trousers, boots, gloves and full face helmet, even in the heat of the Spanish summer. I have summer and winter kit. In the summer I wear shorts under the armoured trousers, so I can slip the trousers off if I am doing any walking. Bit of a pain, but not so much pain as possible injuries from a fall.

I am almost 64 now, and one thing is for sure, as you get holder, you don't heal as well or as quickly as you can when you're 24!

The amount of safety gear a person wears shows how much risk they are willing to take. I once rode with little gear a few decades ago. A Helmet, gloves, any jacket and boots. Oh yeah, sun glasses to fend of bugs and an open face helmet.

After a few potentially crippling mishaps off road I clued in quite a bit. In one instance I could not bend my left knee very much for a year and a half after doing a 12 foot fall off a cliff with my bike. The bike survived the fall better than I did.

Fast forward to my return to riding in 2005. Much more gear and the money to buy it. That said, protective gear that will meet your needs is relatively cheap.

At present I have a Shoei flip face helmet, Joe Rocket jacket with an optional and somewhat expensive back protector that is better than the original. I have settled on Red Wing leather gauntlets for all my riding. They are not armored but are comfy and fit well. AlpineStar riding boots for my one and only pair of feet. They have to last my lifetime. I have had a variety of riding pants with armor but they never fit right after I gain or loose weight. I just tried jeans which are not real safe but I had shin/knee protectors under them. They were dirt cheap and recommended by webBikeWorld under jeans. I think they are a Shift product.

I once had a pair of armored riding jeans but rarely wore them. The hip armor worked well when I fell off my stool while working on my bike. I was surprised to fall and even more surprised that the hip armor cushioned me so well on concrete.

Over the last 12 years I have bought and given away a multitude of gloves, pants and jackets that weren't comfy for me but were better than nothing to other riders with no gear or cash to buy it.

I had a really nice all weather jacket that did everything but fit well. I gave it to a friend in need and he was thrilled with it. It fit him very well too. That made me happy.

Safety gear is a must and I won't ride without it. I can't. I trained myself to never ride naked sort of thing. It is the same as a seat belt in my Ranger, I can't drive without being buckled in. I have used seat belts since 1966 since I happened across a rolled car with an arm sticking out from under it. The young gal flew out and the car landed on her.........it was a lasting memory.

Protect yourself as best you can all the time. Life can be a lot more lasting and pain free with some gear that works. And if you do have a mishap be sure to get checked out even if you don't feel hurt. The next day may be a bad day with an injury making an appearance just for you.

Got hit side on in 20 13 by a guy that came thru a stop sign.I limped away with just bruises & scratches after bouncing off his bonnet & sliding through the intersection & landing in the ditch.....I had all gear on except gloves......I hands & knuckles took the worst beating.......I now wear gloves......My head hit hard enough for the inner shell of the helmet to dislodge & move......But it did what it was supposed to do...(Not even a headache)......If I hadn't had Jacket,chaps & proper boots on (Ripped the side outta one boot) I wouldn't of walked away.....ATGATT.

A great thread for a new guy rider to read.
Currently collecting safer/smarter riding gear. Right now I have steel toe combat boots, 3/4 helmet with shield and motorcycle gloves. Currently always wear long thicker pants and long sleeve thicker hoodie. Want a riding jacket and pants.

As the budget allows, they are on the list.

Joe Rocket has some pretty decent jackets for a fair price. Check them out and wait for a sale. Go online to Cycle Gear and check out their stuff too. Sometimes it is worth it to pay more for good gear.

Check out the closeout section at "motorcyclesuperstore.com"

I have started shopping at Cycle Gear since we have one in town. It is nice to be able to try on gear to see how it fits.

Sometimes the online specials are better than the in store prices. Be sure to compare.

Basketball shorts, tank top and flip flops. . Oh and aviator glasses

I see a hayabusa in your future.

And take a selfie to compare the before and after condition of your body after the crash. :tup:

Selfies while i ride instead. X)

2 weeks ago I got a Fieldsheer armored mesh jacket and waiting on the delivery this coming Tuesday of xtreemgear armored mesh pants. Love the jacket and super excited to get the pants. I feel much more confident wearing proper gear.
Again, GREAT thread.

Finally had to get new riding pants. Seems the old ones shrunk at the waist line. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Bought some Alpinestar riding pants. They are waterproof and breathable material. Very comfy and a relaxed fit with a larger waist size. I did try just regular jeans and shin/knee protection but was not all that enamored with the thought of an oops with denim covering my butt. Had a very pleasant and safe ride earlier tonight. I was wondering if there would be too much of a breeze blowing up the legs but it was not noticeable.

One thing I will be doing in the future is having the old rear zipper from the JR pants sown to the new pants so I can zip my JR jacket to the pants at the rear. This is a feature to prevent the jacket from sliding up and uncovering my back in case of a serious slide.

Price wise the new Alpinestar pants are bit much after not having seen any prices for a few years but I feel they are a good product and I really can't live in the past and expect prices from the past.

I am all about dressing for the slide and enjoying the ride. At times I tend to preach safety but usually shy away from it after an initial comment. For the folks who wear little to no safety gear please be careful. It boils down to how much risk a rider is willing to accept when it comes to an oops and possible injury. Even with all the gear you can still be hurt but hopefully a lot less. Just the other day I talked to a coffee bud who hadn't been around since last year. Seems he was healing up and doing rehab to get mobile again. He said a cell phone zombie took him out broadside. His bike was destroyed, his other bike is for sale and he will never be able to ride again due to lack of any strength in his right arm. He is finally walking after reconstructive surgery on his leg and ankle.

Luckily he was on home ground for the oops and had good health care facilities rather than one of the 20 odd other countries he has ridden where health care is near non-existent.

$15 later and the zipper is done. A bit more peace of mind and security.
Had a nice ride last night until I rode through a few clouds of insects. Yuck!! :tdown:

Tis the season.